


The Name I Came With

by Pohadka



Series: The Job Between Here and There [5]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Filling in Plot Holes, Gen, Post-Avengers (2012), Post-Iron Man 3, Pre-Avengers (2012), bucky's family is canon, part of a series, the parts that the Marvel Movies skipped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-16
Updated: 2016-07-16
Packaged: 2018-07-24 07:42:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7499814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pohadka/pseuds/Pohadka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's one thing to honor the family legacy and keep the memory of Bucky Barnes and Steve Rogers alive.  It's something else when the family legacy walks in and changes your life completely.  </p><p>##</p><p>Fic begins when Steve Rogers starts to live again in NYC right before the Battle of New York.  Ends at the same place/time where my series fic "The Rent is too Damn High Job" ends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Name I Came With

**Author's Note:**

> Rebecca Barnes-Proctor is canon from the comics, as is the fact that she's alive when Bucky comes home. I took liberties with the family tree and extrapolated a lot. Tons of notes at the end.

And I'm still living by my maiden name  
The name I came with  
The name I made

 **##  
** March 20th, 2012  
  
Outside Rebecca Barnes’ bistro, the view from the sidewalk was obstructed by scaffolding surrounding the Stark Tower. Despite being half built, it was extremely busy. Sometimes she felt as though half her clientele were merely office workers from the lower half. If she got the evening shift, then it leaned more towards the construction guys as they got off and wanted something to carry out. As a manager of the bistro, she loved the business.

As a native New Yorker, she hated the building and everything Stark stood for. Just another billionaire who tore down buildings that had stood for decades to make room for another gaudy monstrosity. 

“Hey Becca! There’s some guy out front who wants to see you!” Beth grinned as she came back inside to drop off menus and grab a tray of drinks. “He’s cute too. If you like ‘em old fashioned.” She winked and headed back out immediately, just so that she could avoid seeing Becca roll her eyes.

She still took a moment to check herself in the mirror. She had insisted on the full length mirror at the door leading into the main restaurant. Every shift, she demanded that the waitstaff check themselves for stains or tears in their clothes, to keep the illusion going for the customers. Once they saw the difference in their tips, they didn’t argue, much. Today, Becca’s dark curly hair still rode in the thick braid over her shoulder. Her jeans were still clean, despite digging around in the freezer earlier, and DeMarco’s vest she had borrowed hid the worst of the wine stain on her white blouse. She tugged at her shirt a little more, just to make sure it wouldn’t come loose. 

Beth had seated the man close to the employee’s entrance, where she could check him out in the mirror behind the bar. Old fashioned indeed. He wore a button up shirt and loose slacks. His blond hair was combed over to the side, reminding her of the way her grandfather had looked in family photos. There was a thick file of papers in front of him, along with a notepad and a pencil. She read historian all over him. Wonderful, another guy looking for quotes about great uncle Bucky Barnes and Captain America. This was something she knew how to handle, out of long practice.

Becca stepped out briskly, her arms folded around her own portfolio, filled with employee schedules and inventory, but it still gave her something to hang onto. She shifted it to her left so she could hold out her right hand to him. “Hi, I’m Rebecca Barnes. Beth said that you had asked for me?” 

The guy was cute, she’d give him that. And built like nobody’s business. He jumped to his feet immediately, taking her hand in a warm but light hand shake. “I appreciate you giving me some of your time today. I uh, didn’t know if you’d be here, actually.” 

“Most days except Sundays, or my ma would have my hide.” She smiled to make the words sound like a joke. It was true, though. 

“That’s actually why I came today. I’ve been doing some uhm, research.” Cutie looked down at the folder on the table. Like she thought, it had Great Unka Bucky’s enlistment photo on the outside. 

Time to cut this short. Two girls on her dinner shift had already called in. “Listen, kiddo, most of the quotable quotes have been given to enough historians through the years. If you’re working on your thesis, I promise you, most of the family isn’t interested anymore.” 

His eyes actually bugged out. “Oh, this isn’t a thesis, I’m uhm,” Blondie paused, coughed a bit, then straightened back up. “Can I start over? My name is Steven Rogers.” He held out his hand again.

“Yeah, I’ve seen a lot of name sakes too.” She didn’t take his hand, just settled her portfolio on her hip. To her surprise, that didn’t faze him.

“I’m still getting used to that. No, you’re right. It’s complicated, uh… I’m sorry, there’s no real easy way to prove this.” He dug into his pocket for a wallet. He pulled out an old photo, one that had been crumpled and soaked at some point, then held it out to her. She took it warily, then gasped, hand over her mouth.

She had a drawing of this photo on her wall in her apartment. Great Uncle Bucky, with his arm around a scrawny blond kid on one side, and her own name sake, Rebecca on the other side, in pigtails and a toothless grin. The original had been lost with Captain America, or so they thought. Hers had been drawn by Steve Rogers himself, and given to her grandmother.

“This is, that’s…” she stuttered. “No, this is impossible.” Photos could be faked, right?

“It should have been.” Steven dropped his voice, even though only Toby was at the bar and not listening to them. “I went down in the Atlantic, that part was true.” His face was white, but determined. As if he almost didn’t believe it himself. “They found the plane a couple months back, frozen in the ice. Expected to defrost me and run some tests, but instead,” he shrugged. “Woke me up, somehow. Still don’t really understand it myself.” He pulled out a couple other things from his wallet. Another photo in the same condition, Steven Rogers looking serious and small against a laughing Bucky Barnes in a carney booth photo strip. And an ID, with an ominous black symbol proclaiming the holder to be a member of Shield. Steven Grant Rogers. DOB: July 4th, 1918. With this guy’s photo on it.

Her knees felt like they were sawdust. She dropped into the seat across from his folder before they could give way. “How… when... why...” She swallowed hard, looking up as he sat down too. “And they let you come here, to tell me about this?”

“Bucky’s sisters, Rebecca, Winnie, and Grace, they were my sisters too. You’re the first person in the family I’ve been able to meet.” He bit his lip, shifting a bit. Becca realized that the paleness of his face wasn’t natural. He looked sick. And somehow, so sad. 

“How do I know you’re telling the truth? A couple old photos don’t prove a lot.” She crossed her arms, scowling hard at him. She’d heard they’d started concept development on a new Captain America movie. That’s what this was, yeah. Probably the actor doing a trial run. Oh she’d have a thing or six to tell him in a moment. Complete with her boot up his backside.

“God, you look just like Grace did when I told her about Erskine’s experiment.” This guy, this Steve, laughed and shook his head. “I don’t know how to prove it. I just…” He fell silent, chewing his lip, then flipped open the folder and turned it around to show her. “I know Bucky never got to come home after he got his orders to report. But he wrote to his sisters every chance he got.” He flicked through a few pages, past photos and battle reports that she’d seen a hundred times. “I was with him when he got the letter about Gracie finding a boy. Gaetano, right?” He pulled the page out to pass over to her. 

“Okay, so if you’re really that Steve Rogers, what did Bucky write back in response?” That letter had been lost, but it was a family only legend. Mostly because of Steve’s own letter that arrived with it, describing Bucky’s reaction.

“Well, first he ranted and raved about her dating an Italian from Queens. Then he yelled about how he was a dirty, no good Yankee’s fan, for at least thirty minutes. Then he wrote back to tell her she had better name her first kid after him.” Steve smiled, relaxing at the memory. “So did she?” 

“Holy fuck.” Rebecca slapped her hand over her mouth in shock. It was real. He was real. _Holy fuck._ “Sorry, sorry, it’s the shock. And uhm, she did. Sorta?” She paused, melting at the look on his face. “She named him Steven James, because it sounded better.” 

This Steve flushed again. She could see why history remembered him so clearly. She’d seen a lot of war vets over the past few years. She understood it, having served her own time overseas. But not a single one looked as innocent as this kid. It was a shock to realize that his elapsed age was probably less than her own. And if this story was true…

Grandma had been a warrior in her own right. She’d heard a lot of stories at Grandma Becca’s knee, and later when she listened to the recordings her dad had made about the man sitting across from her and Bucky Barnes. If they didn’t do this right, Grandma herself would come out and smack them all upside their heads. She reached across the table to squeeze his hand, then grinned. “You just got yourself invited to Sunday brunch.” 

 

 **##  
** March 25th, 2012, five days later  
  
Rebecca only told her parents about Steve coming to Sunday brunch to meet the family. Her mother Gwennie took care of telling everyone else. And just like a Barnes, she didn’t tell Steve that they were expecting him either. 

He rode out with her on the Q train, looking around curiously before dropping down to her ear level. “So why did Rebecca never change her name?” 

“You mean, take her husband’s?” Rebecca laughed as Steve nodded. “I’m sure you read some of the books. It’s cause Bucky was the only boy. She said ‘He was a hero, least I could do is keep the name alive for him.’” 

“Wow. I thought that was just…” He waved one over-sized hand in the air.

“Propaganda?” she laughed, nodding. “Yeah, that’s how she said it, but really, she just loved Bucky that much.” Rebecca paused, then elbowed him. “You too. We have a lot of Stevens and Grants in the family from those three women. I loved them all.” 

Steve ducked his head, flushing a bit. Then he kind of cocked his head a little. “Tell me about them?” She suddenly remembered again that he’d just seen them as kids a few months ago. It was hard for her to wrap her head around, still.

“Oh Steve, I don’t think this train ride is that long.” She laughed again, then stood up to let a lady with a baby take her seat, pulling Steve a little to the side. “You’re gonna hear a lot this afternoon as well, so… Oh! Here’s one that the history books don’t know!” 

The story of how she came to be, on an extended family trip down to the Jersey shore, the matriarchs, their children, and all the grandchildren of the time in one big rambling house for a month, it took the rest of the train ride. “Back when people could still do that. Not so much these days.”

Her own parents were on the outs at the time, but Grandma Becca wouldn’t let them skip. “I almost wasn’t. Kinda glad she had that kind of clout. My favorite part was what she told them.” 

“Yeah? Am I gonna like this part?” Steve was smiling, unsuspecting.

“Maybe. She said, you have to be brave to love. You have to be willing to fight for it, not just for show when everyone’s watching, but in the back alleys and at all times of the day or night. You have to be willing to go to war for it, or it’s just not worth it.” 

Steve looked away at the end, swallowing hard. Rebecca hung her head, stubbing her toe at the dirt on the floor of the car. They didn’t speak until the station was announced. “That definitely sounds like the Becca I know,” Steve said, as they got off the train. 

“I hope you know, once they get over the shock, they’re gonna ask you a million questions.” 

“Well, it turns out, I’ve got time.” He gave her a shy smile, letting her lead him up to the streets. 

“What grandma said, about going to war,” she started softly. “That was you and Bucky, wasn’t it?” 

“Yeah. Yeah it was.” Steve rubbed at his face, taking an excuse at the bright light of the sun aboveground to look away from her.

“Well, grandma said you were both worth it.” She took another liberty to rub his bicep. It was bigger around than her thigh, but she kept that thought to herself. “That’s one of the things we kept for ourselves, in the family, you know. Even after the Civil Rights movement and and the stuff going on now, about gay rights. We always considered it a family thing.” 

It took half a block before he looked up again, but he was smiling, despite the redness of his eyes. “Thank you, Rebecca.”

“You’re welcome. Oh, come with me!” she said, ducking into a flower shop to pick out a few. “Take a moment, cause this is the last free breath you’re gonna take all day.” 

“Okay, now THAT sounds like the Barnes family I knew,” he joked. By the time they made it to the house three streets over, he was smiling and joking and looking around with interest, heartache momentarily forgotten. 

~ ~ ~ ~

Rebecca watched Steve sit in the back yard will all the kids surrounding him, 4-year-old Michael curled up in his lap and entranced with the way he talked. From where she sat in the back parlor, she couldn’t hear what story he was telling, but she could definitely hear all the questions being yelled at him.

“You did good, bringing him here. That boy looked so lost,” her mother said, resting a hand on her shoulder.

“Ma, he’s not a puppy I found on the street!” Rebecca laughed, shaking her head. 

“No, he’s not. But you can know exactly where and when you are and still be completely lost, you know.” 

Rebecca reached up to squeeze her mother’s hand. “I know, Ma.” She dropped her voice as she added, “If I’ve done my math right, it’s only been a month, maybe six weeks for him, since he lost Uncle Bucky. Grandma mourned for years.” 

“You take him to see her, this week if you can. She’ll want to see him, I know.” That was Aunt Georgianna, leaning in on her other side to peer out the window. “I can go with you, if you want, to help her through the shock.” 

“Actually, I was thinking of going to see her by myself first, tell her what happened, then bring him over.” She smiled up at her mother and aunt. “Pretty sure I can talk him into giving over his photos, if he knows that’s why I need them.” 

“That’s smarter. And your grandmother’s always adored you, even when you went off to Afghanistan,” Gwennie said, popping Rebecca on the shoulder. “Now go rescue that boy and bring those kids in to eat.”

“Yes ma’am!” Before she went out, though, she took care to straighten her clothes and push back her hair. The best appearance did half your job for you, Grandmother always said. 

The moment she stepped in the yard, the younger kids looked up at her, partially hopeful that dinner was finally ready, and partially upset that she’d come to steal their new friend from her. “All right, up and at ‘em. Get cleaned up before your mothers decide you to dump you with me again.” 

Steve laughed as all of them, even the littlest Michael in his lap, insisted on hitting the ground running. She stepped aside as the group ran past her. “Sorry about that. Evidently I’m the scary one now.” 

“Yeah? I have no clue why.” Steve came up to the porch slowly, still smiling with that sweet innocent look.

My older sister, Helen, she left her twin terrors with me for the weekend. Right after I got back from Afghanistan, so I was kinda twitchy.” She shrugged. He might look innocent, but the man knew war, knew loss. He’d understand.

He did. His whole face went soft with both regret and admiration. It felt weird, a national icon looking at her that way. “You saw action?” 

“Yeah. Nothing like you did. We sat for days doing nothing, taking pot shots at lizards, then nonstop mortar attacks.” Rebecca leaned against the post on the side, debating. “I followed in Uncle Bucky’s footsteps, you know. Sniper.” 

“I didn’t know they let women do that now.” Steve blushed, and she couldn’t help it, it was the funniest thing she’d seen all day. He joined in on the laughter, though. “I know, I know. I sound my age.” 

“Yeah. I had to fight for it, but my rating did a lot of the talk for me. It’s been a few years though, probably way out of practice now.” 

“If only your customers knew that in the bistro. I bet none of them would argue then.” Now they were both laughing again.

“Oh I don’t know about that. Anyways, dinner’s really on. You ready for the whole twenty six of them to stare at you while you eat?” She reached out to ruffle the perfectly combed hair. She felt comfortable with Steve, the first person in a long time outside of family that she did. But then again, Steve WAS family.

“No, but waiting doesn’t make it better. Let’s go!” Rebecca grabbed him by the hand and drug him in, just like she would have done with any of the kids. To her immense satisfaction, he gave in easily.

Even if his hand almost bruised hers by the tightness of the grip. 

 

 **##  
** March 30th, 2012, five days later  
  
Rebecca was finishing next week’s schedules when Beth poked her head in through the door, blond hair bouncing in shining curls. “Your boyfriend’s here, Boss.” 

“You know damn well he’s not my boyfriend, he’s my cousin. You keep calling him that, I’m gonna take you off the day shift so you don’t get to flirt with him.” She smiled up at Beth to soften her words, hitting print so she could hang up the schedule before she left. 

“I know. I just really like hearing you say it. But you know what?” Beth came into the office enough that she could lean on the door. “I think he’s way too much puppy for me. Way too sweet and earnest.” 

Rebecca dissolved into giggles, holding onto her ribs to keep from popping them. “Oh god, Beth! Now you make me wanna keep treats on hand for him!” They laughed together for a couple minutes, and Rebecca appreciated the moment greatly. She was nervous as hell, because she hadn’t told Steve what today would involve. Grandma’s orders.

She took a moment in front of the mirror to straighten herself out before going to greet him. She wore a simple blue sun dress with a bright coral cardigan over it. Thanks to the fashion trends these days, she got to wear her most comfortable combat boots too, in case she had to run after a super soldier. “Hey Steve!” 

He stood when she came out, but that was something he always did. The warm hug was a nice addition though. Ever since Sunday brunch, he’d come in at least once a day on her shift. Beth might call him a puppy, but Rebecca knew he was the loneliest puppy in the whole city. And he was her responsibility now. 

“Hey Rebecca. You look nice. Got a date later tonight?” Steve smiled shyly at her, something flickering in the deep blue of his eyes. 

“Well, kind of. You get to come along too, so it’s not that kind of date. You mind hanging out with me this afternoon?” She smiled as reassuringly as she knew how to.

“Of course,” were the words that came out of his mouth, but his shoulders tensed and that famous jaw went up two inches as he straightened his back. 

“Great.” She tiptoed to kiss his cheek before looping her arm through his, only pausing to catch Beth’s eye in the mirror. She mouthed ‘can it’ at the waitress and waved to Toby as she walked her lonely super puppy out onto the busy Manhattan street.

People murmured around them, pointing upwards. Predictably, there was a red streak through the sky, going to the top of Stark Tower. “You know, if he wasn’t so good for business, I’d start arguing with the city to outlaw him for flying around like that.” 

Steve had looked up too, cocking his head. “Who is that?” 

“Oh, you precious thing, come on.” Rebecca swallowed the laugh. She’d already learned that Steve hated being reminded of how clueless he was in this new world. “That’s Tony Stark in his Iron Man suit. That big ass penis building is his baby.” 

He spluttered for a moment, looking back at the tower, then at her in surprise, before laughing. “Penis building?”

“Yeah, although you probably don’t want to repeat that to anyone else.” Rebecca shrugged, hugging his bicep again. He put off a lot of heat to counter the cool spring breeze, even in the leather jacket he wore. “I call it that because it’s so very ‘look at me, look at me! I’m a big dog!’ kind of thing. Like he has to compensate for something without being a bully about it.” 

Steve snorted and looked back one more time, then took a deep breath and smiled down at her. “So, more pleasant things. Where are we going today?” 

“We’re gonna go see an old friend.” She patted his arm, then shifted to his other side so she could hail a cab.

~ ~ ~ ~

Twenty minutes later, she let him pay the cabbie as she got out. The House was a long, rambling gray building at the far end of Brooklyn, overlooking Jamaica Bay. Several of the other residents were out in the garden, digging a little in the warm sunlight. Everything was beautiful, peaceful. It did a lot to ground Rebecca to the day and the task at hand.

“Okay, you’ve got me nervous,” Steve admitted, giving her a small smile when he moved to stand beside her.

“Good, cause I’m nervous too.” Rebecca took him by the hand and led him up the walk to the security station, only letting go to dig her ID out of her bag. “Hi, I’m Rebecca Barnes. I need to add a visitor to her approved list, please?” 

“About time you showed up! She’s been in a tizzy all day! We haven’t seen her this excited since you came back home.” The nurse today was actually the director Eva Hopewell, and someone that Rebecca counted as a true friend. 

She smiled, then elbowed Steve in the gut, looking up at his shocked face. “ID time, big guy, so you can come visit whenever you want.” 

He handed it over, and she was happy to note that no one made any comment on his date of birth, just glanced up to reassure themselves. All Rebecca had told them was that he was an unusual individual and needed discretion more than they usually did for the Barnes family. Probably why Eva was manning the desk. 

“She’s up in the Bay side receiving room, Becky. Go on up. Just let us know how long you want to stay and we’ll add you to the dinner service.” 

“Thanks Eva. You really are awesome. I don’t care what Aunt Georgie says.” Rebecca winked at her as the director laughed and waved them off. 

“You know them pretty well here, huh Becky?” Steve murmured as they headed for the stairs. The nickname was heavily stressed.

“Oh yeah. Eva’s pretty special. She’s actually the director of the House here.” Rebecca took his hand again as she led him upstairs. “Otherwise we would have arranged this someplace better.” She stopped a few stairs from the top landing, holding up a finger into his face. “And only three people in this world gets away with calling me Becky. You’re not one of ‘em.” She smiled as he laughed. 

“I’m the same way about Stevie, don’t worry.”

She would have replied, but she saw movement at the door of the reception room. Steve’s hand was solid in hers even as he started to drag behind her a bit, but she didn’t let him. “Grandma? It’s me, Becky. He’s here.” 

In the round reception room, Rebecca Barnes-Proctor paused in her pacing to look back. At 89, she still stood straight, eyes just as bright as the day Rebecca had returned to the city for good. “Oh Steve. It really is you!” 

Rebecca stepped aside to let Steve rush in to hug her grandmother, digging into her small purse again to find a Kleenex. Seeing them blubber at each other was better than watching her pregnant cousin bawl at YouTube videos. 

After explanations, the three of them settled at a table with tea. Steve’s eyes were rimmed with red, but his smile was more genuine than any of the other smiles she’d seen so far. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, almost begging.

“I couldn’t, not until I had permission,” she said, with as much apology as she could.

“Oh they’ve got all sorts of rules about me now,” Grandma said, before giving Rebecca a glare. “Just because this delightful young man took me out a few years ago…”

“He was a con man and he took you to Vegas, trying to marry you so he could steal all the family secrets,” Rebecca retorted, ignoring Grandma’s hand wave, dismissing her words.

“Oh please, I wasn’t going to go through with it. I was having fun!” Becca the elder turned to smile at Steve, patting the hand wrapped around hers fondly. “Maybe Stevie will break me outta here like old days, huh?” 

“Right, when the only thing I had to worry about was your Ma swatting all three of us and sending us to bed early?” 

“Well they can’t do that anymore, I promise you,” Becca said with a laugh.

“No, maybe not, but that one,” and he pointed to Rebecca, laughing with her. “She told me what she did overseas. She’s a lot scarier than your ma ever was!”

“Okay fine! But I do want a day pass with you now and then,” Becca said, after all three had recovered from the giggles. 

Steve didn’t even glance at her for permission. “Oh you bet. I can’t wait!” Then the two were off, reminiscing even as Steve asked questions about things long gone. They didn’t even notice when she slipped out of the room. But her job wasn’t done yet. 

Rebecca bummed a few cigarettes off the orderly who always carried, then went outside to smoke one while she walked perimeter. This Shield organization that had been taking care of him, they were good, but she had noticed. Different agents most of the time, but three had caught her eye.

This time she saw the one she called a used car salesman by the bus stop. He looked to be reading the schedule, but he was far too alert to be doing just that. Rebecca glanced down the street for traffic before going over to join him. She reached up to finger the map as she read it, ignoring him at first. Then she dug into her purse for her phone. “Oh damn, it’s dead. Hey mister, you know what time it is?” she asked, turning to face him.

He actually checked a wrist watch. “It’s four fifteen. Next bus isn’t for thirty minutes.” His voice was calm and smooth. It made you want to trust him. 

“Figures.” She turned to look at the House, waving her hand. “Some big wig comes in for a visit and they throw me out. Crappy day.” 

“Now why would they do a thing like that?” he said politely, clasping his hands in front of him, projecting calm.

Rebecca dropped her voice. “Because Steve Rogers is important enough to have security following him, whether he knows it or not.” 

The guy shot her a measured look, taking a breath. She shook her head. “Look, I get it. To be honest, I appreciate it. But that’s my grandmother in there. If shit goes sideways, I don’t want her involved, got it?” she shifted, turning to dig another cigarette out of her purse. Salesman actually held a lighter for her. “When he goes public, people are gonna remember her again. Can you promise me that you’ll at least keep the chatter to a minimum?” 

Salesman paused, as if he was debating something. “I’d like to do one better. Would you be willing to act as the liaison for the Barnes family, should one become necessary?” 

Well crap. So much for a quiet life. “To keep them safe, yeah, I guess.” 

Salesman held out his hand to shake hers. “My name’s Phil Coulson. We should meet and talk some time.” 

**  
**##  
May 4, 2012, one month later  
  
For the first Friday in May, it was actually pretty quiet in the bistro. Everyone probably saving up for Cinco de Mayo the next day. Rebecca had been looking forward to explaining that one to Steve, but she hadn’t seen him for a week.

Well, not in person anyways. All the TV pundits were still chewing over the video footage from Stuttgart, Germany. Tony Stark and an unknown individual wearing the stars and stripes and carrying a round shield had taken down some freaky bad guy a couple days before. It had taken them a few months, but Shield had finally talked Steve back into service. 

Rebecca wished the bistro was busy. It would have distracted her from her nerves. The only people at Shield that she’d been able to contact were secretary types, and all saying that they could not release any classified information. “Knowing if my family’s safe shouldn’t be classified!” she’d told the last one. 

The TV was playing soundlessly over the bar, replaying the Stuttgart footage while the talking heads argued. The ticker along the bottom asked “A new Captain America debuting?” Oh if they only knew.

There were only four customers at the moment, and they had been the first ones all day. So it was only Rebecca, Beth, and DeMarco in the restaurant until the evening crew came in at four. She planned a nice long bath, maybe a pizza to herself, and no irritating family or impossible super soldier issues in her evening.

“Hey Rebecca, you missed it! Stark finally fell off his balcony!” Beth came in laughing, holding on to the serving tray. “He’s got some great suits, though. Caught him just two stories from the ground.” 

“Oh god, I bet he would’ve landed on someone too,” Rebecca replied, laughing.

She stopped laughing when the ground shook, and a loud twang sound rang through the air. “Stay in here!” she ordered as she leapt over the bar and headed outside. Beth didn’t listen, of course. 

People in the street were looking skyward, pointing up at Stark tower. Above the tower, a bolt of light blue energy looked to be causing some sort of reaction in the sky. “What the fuck did Stark do this time?” she murmured, watching with her hand over her eyes to block out the sun. The layers of her skirt curled around her legs in the light breeze, the caress sending goosebumps up her legs. Her stomach was still chewing on itself from worrying about Steve. This didn’t help at all.

The reaction started to boil like storm clouds, then it spread apart into a wide circle of night sky. That was bad enough, but some sort of air craft started to come out of the night sky part in large numbers. 

_Invasion,_ her brain yelled. People around her were screaming, but this kind of panic, she knew how to deal with. “Beth, prop open the door!” Rebecca took a deep breath and used her best battlefield voice. “EVERYONE! INSIDE!” She started to shove people into the Bistro, past Beth’s panicked face. “Tell DeMarco to open up the interior and send everyone down into the tunnel. They can get to the substation from there. NO ONE GOES BACK OUT! Got it?” 

Beth nodded, eyes wide in fear but she still yelled Rebecca’s orders back to DeMarco, even as she started grabbing people to yank them into the bistro. Rebecca left her to it, swimming upstream through the frightened crowd to the nearest cop. “Listen! Tell them to come into my restaurant, I can get them down into the subway from there! Get everyone off the street!” 

The kid shot her a look of relief. He looked to be barely twenty, and in way over his head. She knew exactly how he felt. But he listened, and the stream of people running for the door actually jammed for a moment. 

Something made her duck under an awning then. When she looked up, she saw several humanoid forms riding some sort of silver platform chariot style. The damn thing flew. Their weapons were blasting blue energy bolts at everyone. Then Stark flew by, bowling into them and pulling their attention away from the street. 

Things only got crazier after that. She stayed on the street, grabbing anyone she saw within the block radius and pushing them down into the bistro. It didn’t take long for the crowds to thin out, but she still found a random person now and then. One was even carrying a cage with a screaming Macaw bird in it. Then the injured people started coming in. 

Someone that Rebecca had yanked off the street turned out to be an EMT. So she gave him full access to everything in the bistro to help tend people as they streamed through. Beth started handing out bottles of water and soda. DeMarco was slicing bread and cheese to for those who needed that sort of boost. They had it covered inside, so she went back out on the street. Just in time to see some sort of crazy jet crash into the plaza down the street. 

She started running for it to see if there were any casualties when the back end of it opened up. Three people walked down it, one in the very familiar red, white, and blue uniform. Steve! And behind him was the red headed woman Rebecca had seen now and then shadowing him on security. Already Rebecca was feeling better about their chances. The third guy was carrying a bow. 

A bow. There were aliens in the sky shooting lasers and he was carrying a bow. 

Right.

Eh, well… Steve was using his shield. At least a bow was more precise.

Rebecca reversed and went back to the street she’d been covering. She fought with her hair, trying to tie it back as she ran, and she itched to have a gun too. She also cursed her decision to wear a flowy layered skirt this morning. But yay for combat boot style!

Her street was mostly silent from the human stand point now, except for cops trying to figure out how to handle this.

The sky groaned again and she looked up. More craft were coming out and then….

A giant sky whale? 

OK, this had to be a dream. Right. Or she was tripping on something. Yeah! She’d finally let DeMarco talk her into the molly he’d been carrying and this was just a hell of a trip. 

Fighters started shooting off the sides of the whale. What. The. Actual. Fuck. 

The fight was coming down the street now. Cars flipped as the chariot platforms blew them up. 

The cops nearby started yelling at each other, screaming about the National Guard. No way they could scramble fast enough for this, Rebecca thought. Then Steve landed on the car in front of them and started shouting orders. Finally, someone who had the pay grade high enough to deal with this shit. 

A quick tussle with a couple aliens convinced the cops listen to the orders Cap had given them.

No one even noticed when she picked up one of the alien weapons. To be fair, she wasn’t the only one. Even Rozkovo the bum that lived down the street was grabbing something to fight back with. 

It took a few moments to figure it out, even as one of those sky whales got knocked out of the sky nearby by Stark and the… oh fucking hell, now the Hulk was here? 

Hulk didn’t like aliens either. Okay, she could work with that. 

The energy weapon didn’t fire like the gun she’d carried through her tour, but it did shoot straight at least. She found herself a protected corner at the opposite end where Cap and his friends were set up. And then she got to blast. 

She picked off individual fighters, occasionally the pilots on the platforms. She picked her shots carefully so that she wouldn’t give herself away. Half her shots were misses, but the longer they didn’t see her, the more she could bring down.

Chaos reigned. No battlefield against guerrilla militias in the desert had prepared her for this. Thankfully, this army wasn’t very cohesive and her spot stayed unknown. At some point, firemen, cops, and the National Guard took control of the street. But the portal or whatever it was stayed open. And there were more coming through it. 

At one point, Cap ran through, battling a whole squadron of the aliens. She turned and focused solely on the ones firing down at him, until he was clear again for the moment. 

Steve looked up at her, and to her surprise, his eyes caught hers. Rebecca shrugged and threw him a quick salute. He grinned, then took off again. How ‘bout that. Captain America trusted her to cover his six. God knows someone needed to. 

He was around the corner and gone when an alien finally found her nook. She started firing back at it in panic when a streak of light went up the side of Stark tower and into the portal. Half a minute later, all the creatures on the street suddenly collapsed. And didn’t get back up.

Rebecca twisted to look up into the sky again, watching the portal. The blue beam had finally stopped, and the black starry night disappeared to return to cloudy blue skies. It was over.

 _Keep it together,_ Barnes, she ordered herself, wiggling out of her nook to walk slowly back to the bistro. She held onto her lance gun thing. Hers now, fuck what the government might say. Spoils of War. 

Beth stood at the door of the bistro, grinning triumphantly. A couple cops were following Rebecca, but she didn’t care. They survived. The day had gone more insane than any she’d known before, and they had survived it.

“Ma’am, you can’t keep that,” one cop started to say. 

She turned to look at him. It was the same kid she’d yelled at hours earlier when this thing had started. “I’ll turn it into Shield myself, thanks.”

“Or Captain America. He eats here all the time, you know. He’s her cousin,” Beth said behind her, smirking. The cop blinked, then backed off, holding up his hands. That girl just got a pay raise. 

Inside the bistro, it was quiet. The TV was focused on Steve. He’d lost the cowl at some point, but he looked better than he had the last time she’d seen him. He finally had found the friends he needed.

Still her responsibility. Ma was gonna yell at her so loud. Or Grandma would. 

“Fuck, I need a vacation,” Rebecca said, slumping into her favorite booth, keeping the gun-lance-thing at her side. 

 

****

##  
May 7th, 2012, three days later

“You’re fucking kidding me. You’re shutting the restaurant down for good?” This meeting had gone horribly wrong. At first, Rebecca had thought the meeting was going to be about logistics on how to restock after being open 24/7 the entire weekend, keeping people fed and phones charged. Then she realized that there would need to be rebuilding and things like that, so she assumed the owner, Henry Beach would close for a while, maybe keep them on retainer, then tell them when to come back if they wanted. 

But instead, he was mad that inventory was gone and all his profits were gone as well. “Yeah, I didn’t authorize you to give away good product! Some of that wine cost thousands!” 

Rebecca got up out of her chair, ignoring the other two shift managers to go toe to toe with the guy. “There were FUCKING ALIENS! In the sky! People got hurt! People needed to eat!”

“Then they shoulda paid for it! Not my fault the city got shot up. That’s on the Avengers, not me!” he shouted back. His greasy black hair was flipping out of its carefully combed styling, which just made him even more ridiculous. 

“Fine, then I fucking quit anyway. You wanna kiss all that free publicity goodbye, be my guest, but don’t you DARE put my name on ANY of your bullshit!” She roared back. Then she turned to stomp out of the tiny office, only pausing long enough to grab her purse and yank her lance-gun-thing out of the rafters where she’d hidden it. Someone yelled behind her, but she didn’t stop.

Until she got to the main floor and realized Steve was standing there, two women in black uniforms with him. “Steve! I’ve been calling nonstop, you asshole!” Rebecca laughed and launched herself at him, giving him a hard hug.

“Hey, watch that thing! Did you figure out how to power it down at least?” He was laughing, grabbing at the gun-lance-thing to hold it away from his face, but he was hugging her back just as hard. 

“Duuh. And I can power it back on too,” she said with a smirk. “So who’s the security detail?” 

“Right. OK, so Rebecca, this is Natasha Romanoff,” and he turned to the red head on his left. Rebecca recognized her from the street fighting and gave her a respectful nod. “And this is deputy director Maria Hill.” 

The second woman was almost as tall as Steve, and she looked as dangerous as Romanoff. “Steve’s been telling us a lot of things about you.” Hill eyed her gun-lance-thing, then quirked an eyebrow back at Rebecca.

“I’m pleased to meet you both. Especially if you’re the reason why this jerk is finally showing up again three days after all that nonsense.” Steve’s arm was easy across her shoulders, so she just leaned into him.

“Yeah, we’ve been kinda busy with the cleanup. Heard you were busy here too.” As one, the three of them looked to the back of the restaurant. Rebecca finally turned to look too. The staff that had turned up for the meeting stood there, watching them with open jaws. Except Beach. That asshole looked like he was about to explode.

“Yup, but now I seem to have a lot of free time to look forward to.” She smirked at him, wishing she dared be more juvenile at the moment. But she had a reputation now. 

“Good. We’ve got a job for you,” Romanoff said. “Saw the videos of your corner during the battle. That was some nice shooting.” 

“Thanks. That means a lot. Saw how well you fought too.” Rebecca dipped her head again towards the Black Widow. “But I’m not interested. Thanks, but no thanks, you know?”

She actually felt Steve deflate next to her. “But you have all those skills! You were amazing!” 

“And I wasn’t the only citizen who stepped up that day. You offering jobs to them too? Or just ‘cause Steve’s here to vouch for me?” She was looking at Hill this time.

“Because of who you are. I’ve seen your service records, Corporal Barnes” she said, shrugging. “We need people like you.” 

“Uh-huh. Well, if you’ve seen my records, then you know I’ve already traveled the world and all that crap. New York’s my home.” She looked up at Steve, hoping he understood. “I’ve got responsibilities here.” 

“Well, if you change your mind,” Hill shrugged philosophically, then handed her a black business card. It only had a phone number on it.

“Can I use this number if Steve disappears on me again?” she said with a smile, tucking it away in her purse. 

Hill actually laughed. “Maybe. If you’re luck, someone might answer. It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Miss Barnes.” 

“Likewise.” She smiled and watched the two women leave. The redhead, Romanoff, looked back, and Rebecca couldn’t exactly quantify the look she gave them before going out the door. Rebecca sighed to herself, then turned and poked Steve in the ribs. “At least I can go home now and tell Grandma you didn’t end up dead.” 

“Ow! Mean!” Steve shook his head, then gestured for the door. “I talked to her this morning, you’re safe.” 

“Awww, now I have to take back all the nasty things I said.” She smiled, heading out the open door to the barricaded street. She couldn’t help it, she yawned.

“You guys were really open the entire time since the battle?” He asked, gently pointing her down the opposite end of the street that she normally headed for. She shrugged and went with it. The Shield women hadn’t tried to take her lance-gun-thingie, _god I gotta decide on a name,_ so Rebecca wasn’t surprised that Steve was sticking around. 

“Yeah. I mean, seemed like a good idea at the time. People were hungry. And needed to charge their phones. It helped to know other people were still around, you know?” The street was pretty empty, except for city crews cleaning debris off the street.

“It was a good thing to do. I’m proud of you.” Steve was smiling at her, and all the aching and frustration leaked away at that.

“Thanks. That means a lot to me right now.” 

“C’mon. I have an idea that might be better than Shield for you.” He turned to go into the lobby of Stark tower. 

“Uh, Steve? You know I’ve been wearing this dress since Friday, right? And I haven’t showered yet?” She dug her heels in.

“Yup, and that’s OK. Tony gave me a suite here, so we can go up, let you get cleaned up and take a nap, if you want.” He was still smiling that same dumb smile. “I just want to introduce you to someone.” 

He put his palm on some sort of reader, and an elevator opened in front of them. “C’mon, please?” 

“You’re doing that puppy dog eye thing again. That’s not fair, Steve.” 

Someone behind her laughed, and she turned to see the red headed woman again. “Man, she’s got you pegged.” Romanoff pushed past Rebecca to join Steve on the elevator. “What are you up to, Rogers?”

“I was going to introduce Rebecca to Pepper. I think they could figure something out.” He held out his hand to her. 

Pepper. Pepper Potts? Oh god. “I hate you right now.” She sighed and took his hand, letting him pull her onto the elevator. 

“Jarvis, this is my guest, Rebecca Barnes. Please add her to your database as an approved visitor for me?” Puppy dog eyes were gone now. No, now that look was pure snotface. Paybacks for Grandma’s place. 

“Certainly, Captain. Miss Barnes, if you could place your hand on the reader?” The voice came from the speakers. Her first clue was Romanoff’s smirk. They were waiting to see how she’d react. 

OK, challenge accepted. She put her hand on the reader, then spoke up. “May I call you Jarvis too?” 

“That is my preferred designation, thank you. Shall I call you Corporal Barnes?” The doors to the elevator closed, and it started upwards at a very smooth rate.

“No, god no. Rebecca, or Miss Barnes, if you insist on being formal. Nothing else.” She glared at Steve, but he just smiled that same shit eating grin. The expression seemed to be a lot easier for him to make. Something about the fight had loosened him up, somehow.

“As you wish, Miss Barnes. Captain, Miss Potts is in her executive suite right now, and I have taken the liberty to inform her that you’d like to speak to her. Agent Romanoff, Agent Barton is in his quarters at the moment and I believe he might appreciate some assistance with his equipment, if the cursing is anything to go by.” 

“Thanks J. Take me there once you drop off Steve and his sniper.” Romanoff was leaning against the wall, grinning wide. 

“Natasha, please.” Steve’s voice was steady, but there was a note of hopefulness in it.

“Hey, I just think it’d be fitting for you to have a Barnes watching your back again.” 

Rebecca set her jaw and leaned forward, clenching her hand on the gun-lance-thing even as the elevator opened. She didn’t care about who this woman was, she wasn’t going to insult her Uncle, now or ever. 

“Okay nope, not letting you two have this conversation right now.” Steve planted his hand on Rebecca’s belly and pushed her out of the elevator. Romanoff at least didn’t laugh until the doors had closed. He dropped his voice, then whispered against her ear. “She doesn’t know about me an Bucky, okay? She didn’t mean anything by it, I promise.” 

Rebecca pulled back, then took a deep breath. “I’m running on bad coffee and short sleep. I’ll let it go this time.” 

“Thank you.” He squeezed her shoulder gently, then turned her around to face an opening office door.

Whatever Rebecca had been expecting, it wasn’t this. Pepper had her famous strawberry hair up into a lazy pony tail and she wore cut-off jean shorts and a plain white t-shirt. She was even barefoot. “Steve! I wasn’t expecting you until later!” 

He moved in to hug Pepper lightly, smiling. “I had something come up, and then I had a brilliant idea. Pepper, I’d like you to meet Rebecca Barnes. She was my first friend here in New York after they woke me up. Rebecca, this is Pepper.” 

She was tiny, so tiny! Rebecca blinked, then reached out to shake the woman’s hand. A CEO. Probably the richest person she’d ever meet. “Uhm, hi. I’m sorry, I’m spacing out a little and Steve blindsided me.” 

“I’m starting to think that Tony’s rubbing off on him already. I’m so sorry about that. Come in! Would you like something to drink?” 

“Yes, please. Coffee? Straight?” Rebecca managed, following the other two into a shiny and clean office. The chair she sunk into was almost too comfortable. 

“Same for me, please,” Steve said, then grinned at Rebecca. “I don’t want to take up too much of your time, but you know the restaurant down the street, the one that the news was talking about, open nonstop since the Battle? Rebecca was the manager there.”

“Oh wow, no wonder you’re exhausted!” Pepper brought over impossibly delicate cups for them, sitting on the edge of the desk after they had taken them. “But that was really great. I know a lot of our people were making runs over there too. We don’t have anything set up here in the tower yet.” 

“Yeah, I thought I recognized one or two of them.” It occurred to her that she was still holding the lance-gun. _Fuck it, I’m naming you Guinevere._ She put it down carefully behind her seat before taking a sip of her coffee.

“Well, turns out, the owner had no clue. And when he showed up today, he yelled at her for doing it and ruining all his profit. He’s shutting the place down.” Steve looked comfortable with his coffee cup. Although in his hands it looked more like a toy.

“Yeah, I quit before he fired me for it.” Rebecca shrugged, then shot a glare at Steve. What was he up to?

Pepper nodded, thinking faster than Rebecca obviously. “Okay, yeah, I can see why he brought you to me.” 

“We owe her. That Chitauri weapon she’s got? Maria let Rebecca keep it ‘cause she was the sniper that was hidden down the street. She probably got as many as any of us.” 

Pepper smiled at that, her eyes going soft. Rebecca didn’t know how to read that. “Oh, please, Steve. I wasn’t that good!” she retorted, shaking her head. Then she hid behind her coffee cup.

“I think I see what Steve was thinking. I told him that I want to include some restaurant style catering here in the tower, to keep everyone happy. I need someone who can think on her feet and already knows people here in the city. You think you could manage one of those for me?” 

Rebecca blinked, then sat up straighter. “You want me to come work here?” She paused, thinking as quickly as she could. “For you, or for Stark?” 

“Well, technically for Stark Industries but I run it. Tony just does… his thing. Yeah, his thing.” Pepper was smiling at her. 

“Okay. Yeah, wow!” Rebecca rubbed at her face, trying to keep her brain on track. “Yes, please, but I uh, respectfully ask that we talk salary some other time, when I don’t smell like a brewery and have more than two hours sleep?” 

Pepper laughed at that. “Oh wow, a sane one. Steve, where did you find her?” 

Steve was beaming at them both. “She’s Bucky’s great niece. She’s family.” 

“Hey, you haven’t started hiring staff yet, have you? I know a whole crew that can start immediately.” She smiled hopefully at Pepper, head cocked a little.

“Well, you’re the manager. You’d do the hiring. Next Monday work for everyone to start?” Pepper smiled, her eyes going a little hazy as she did her CEO thinking thing. 

“Probably.” She reached out to shake hands with Pepper again, then leaned back with her coffee and her phone. She sent out a mass text to all the crew from the bistro. “Fuck Beach. I just got us all hired at Stark Tower.” Then she waited for her phone to blow up. 

**  
**##  
June 18th, 2012, one month later  
  
“Okay, seriously? You took the contract from Neptune for produce? No, not gonna happen.” Rebecca crossed her arms and tried her best not to growl at Beverly D’Agostini. Technically, the woman was her boss, since she was in charge of all the catering in the building. 

“They had the best offer!” D’Agostini yelled at her. “Do not presume to walk into my office and tell me how to do my job!”

“Well, does your job include telling management how the Russian Mafia got spies into their glorious beautiful building?” Rebecca cocked her head, then looked up at the ceiling. 

“Miss Barnes, a word please.” D’Agostini stared at her as Jarvis’ gentle voice interrupted them. 

“Yes Jarvis. Did you scan everything they brought in yet?” 

“I have, and you were correct, there were a few, shall we say, extremely ineffective attempts to install surveillance devices in the building.” 

“I see. Thank you Jarvis.” Rebecca stepped away from the director of catering, then softened her face and shoulders, dropping her voice to be more conciliatory. “For produce, I preferred Hiro’s. It was always fresher and they could get the rare stuff faster. If you need any other references, just let me know.” 

“I will take that into consideration.” D’Agostini’s was flat, then she sighed as Rebecca left the office. Her concerns were satisfied. She didn’t need any more than that. 

Besides, those Russians were smugglers. She didn’t want that anywhere near her people. 

“Miss Barnes, Miss Potts would like to see you when you have a moment. I’ve informed her of the situation.” 

“Aww Jarvis, we had a deal! You help me prove that Neptune was no good and we’d leave it at that.” She’d picked up Steve’s habit of looking at the ceiling when she talked to Jarvis. It had only taken her two days to get over how strange it felt. Jarvis was good company. If he were a human like she originally thought, she might have proposed to him by now.

“I’m sorry, Miss Barnes. But Sir did program me, and any threats to security have to be reported.”

“Right, okay. Please tell Steve I might be a few minutes late, then?” Rebecca detoured through her kitchen with her people in it. DeMarco had the kitchen well in hand, slapping at hers when she tried to steal a bite from the big vat of pasta. Out front, Jeanie and Curtis had things hopping and flowing just fine. Rebecca had no problem letting them take it from there, saying goodnight and hanging up the apron she’d commandeered in the little office. Always little spaces, but it was comfortable now.

Natasha joined her on the elevator ride up. “Hey, I was wondering something. That lancer you kept from last month, you said it still worked?” 

“Last time I checked it, yeah. It’s been a while though. Pepper’s keeping me busy.” Rebecca smiled at the Russian. It was a strange friendship, but they seemed to click okay, even though she didn’t know very much about Natasha’s background. Despite the moment in the elevator the day they met, things had gone okay between them.

“Well, Clint’s back in town and we got curious about the range on it. You think you could bring it up for target practice sometime this week?” 

Rebecca nodded. “Sure, if you do something for me. Get Clint to quit stealing my chopsticks to build wall art with. I’ll make sure that he’ll get a box of his own every week instead.” 

That got a full laugh out of Natasha. The elevator was opening before she could reply. “I told him that you’d know! Consider him dealt with.” Rebecca saluted and headed to Pepper’s office.

~ ~ ~ ~

Steve’s door was open when she got to his floor. He did things like that all the time. No matter how often they all told him that it wasn’t the thirties anymore, he felt leaving the door open was inviting. “Besides, we all live in the tower together and Jarvis keeps us all updated.” 

He was in the kitchen, fussing over a bubbling pot. “Hey Steve. Uhm, forgive me,” Rebecca said, sliding past him to his well-stocked refrigerator to pull out a beer.

“That bad of a day?” He said, turning to watch her curiously.

“Nope, it was actually a pretty good day. I just had a very interesting conversation with Pepper.” She grabbed a second beer before sitting at the breakfast bar, downing half of the first in one go.

“What did she do now, make you head of catering?” He said, chuckling softly as he dealt with his pot. She could smell potatoes and beef, but whatever else he was trying to make, she had no clue.

“Nope, but now I’m part of the security detail.” She drank down the other half of the beer before popping the top of the second.

Steve hadn’t known. That was evident in the way he sputtered and dropped the pot lid on the stove. “Wow, that’s great!”

“No it’s not, I almost got someone fired.” She groaned and dropped her head down to cover up with both her arms. 

“Hey, hey, no. Don’t look at it that way.” Steve moved around to sit beside her, rubbing her back. She forced herself to sit up again and look at him properly. “What happened?

“I thought there was a security breach, so I got Jarvis involved. You know how Pepper and Tony are about that sort of thing. I should have handled it on my own.” She took another long drink out of the second beer, wishing Steve kept something stronger.

“What is it that makes anyone named Barnes so stubborn?” Steve’s voice was soft when he asked that, but there was still a sparkle of amusement in his eyes.

“Family trait we learned by dealing with pigheaded jerks named Rogers, I guess.” The power gulp of the first beer was already landing, making her feel a bit looser. Steve’s laugh helped a lot too. “Hey, you admit it! That’s progress.” 

“Yeah yeah yeah, you keep thinking that.” He gave her a quick hug before jumping up to deal with the bubbling pot. She watched him for a moment, then realized he was dancing around in one place a bit, kept shooting glances at her.

Oh god, he had something to say. “Okay, just spit it out already. You’re making me exhausted, watching you twitch.” 

“Shield wants to reassign me.” The words were blurted out immediately. 

“Makes sense. See why I said no?” She found a smile for him, taking a sip from her second beer again.

He actually laughed, ducking his head a bit. “Yeah. I haven’t said yes yet. Told them I wanted to think it over. Didn’t want to rush into anything.”

“Wooow! Wish Unca Bucky was here to hear that. Steve Rogers, actually NOT rushing into something! He’d be proud!” Rebecca laughed and ducked the pot holder that was thrown at her. The day she realized that Steve didn’t mind being teased about Bucky, she’d stopped holding back on anything. “Helps keeps his memory alive, right?” he’d said. So maybe yeah. 

“You know, you don’t respect your elders very well.” Steve came around to get the pot holder when she didn’t move to pick it up, ruffling her hair as he went back around.

“Ha. You lost your right to be respected as an elder when I caught you surfing YouTube for videos on Maine Coon cats.” Rebecca smiled, her fingers picking at the label on the bottle. “So where would they send you?” 

“Hey, those cats are awesome! There’s even one that plays fetch!” He stirred the pot a little, then looks back up. “They base their Strike teams out of DC. Natasha would be going too.” 

“That’s not too far. Grandma might come after you if you don’t come back to visit, you know.” Rebecca paused, then found a reassuring smile for him. “I’m glad Natasha’s going too. Someone you know, and all that.” 

“Definitely coming back to visit. Tony’s threatened to evict me if I don’t.” Whatever Steve was doing with the stew, he recognized it as a lost cause and dished out two bowls. It looked to be mostly potatoes and spices with a bit of meat. Rebecca recognized it as a Depression era recipe. 

“Good. Can’t leave me alone with the Stark, and all that jazz.” She leaned against him a little as she took the bowl before turning to follow him to the table. Steve always insisted sitting there anytime she came up for a meal, whether he cooked it or she brought it from the kitchens. “Heard they wanna do an exhibit on you at the Smithsonian now too.” 

That got a nice blush on his face. “I really don’t get the fascination. Bucky had a good laugh at it, but really, it’s not like Tony’s suits or everything about Thor.” 

Rebecca took a bite before answering that. One of the reasons they got along so well is that she did kinda get him. Shit was weird. For a lot of people everywhere, not just for someone adjusting to a whole new world. Sometimes Rebecca thought the hero worship made it worse for him. “I think it’s because you’re one of us, y’know? Just an average guy who became extraordinary. Makes us feel better that it’s not just all the strange people from big money or other worlds or places we don’t know, but one of our own. And I don’t mean from Brooklyn, or even from New York. But a kid from the streets.” 

Steve leaned back as he thought about that. She let him digest that, fishing around in her stew for the potatoes. It needed better spicing, but she knew she had high standards.

“I hadn’t thought about it that way, you know?” He finally said, relaxing a little. “I’d be the same way, if it wasn’t me who was always being stared at.” He pushed his spoon around in the stew, then pushed it away with a sigh. “It should’ve been Bucky. He’s the one who knew how to talk to people and get along.” 

“I got the impression that he was pretty happy it was you. He didn’t have to worry about you anymore, and Grandma always said you were the better half of his conscience.”

Steve laughed at that. “I couldn’t tell you who got into more scrapes than the other. Seems like we were always dragging the other one around.” He looked down at the bowl, then at Rebecca politely eating out of hers. “Oh god, knock that off, it’s horrible. Let’s go somewhere!” 

She shrugged and pushed her bowl away obediently. “Nah, tastes like stew Grandma made when I was a kid. Only she used more meat and other vegetables in it too.” 

“Show me,” Steve asked. She couldn’t deny the hungry look on his face, so she did.

When he showed her the spare bedroom and asked her to check in on the suite and make sure Tony didn’t redecorate while he was in DC, she agreed to that too. 

**  
**##  
October 22, 2012, four months later  
  
Two AM was a new shift for Rebecca, but she found she liked it. The Tower was always busy, 24/7, because Tony Stark hired scientists just like him. The ones who worked all hours of the day and night and realize at 3 am that they hadn’t eaten in the past 24-36 hours. Guys like Bruce Banner.

He was always in the tower, whether Tony was in town or not. Steve had said something about feeling safer there, and Rebecca totally got that. He was painfully shy, and just as painfully careful about everything. Rebecca would never admit it to Steve, but Bruce had become her favorite Avenger, because he was the most normal of them all.

This time when he came down, she was the only one in the cafeteria, and had been for an hour. So she didn’t feel guilty for spreading out her homework across the table nearest to the kitchen. 

Columbia College didn’t know about any of her connections other than her name. That’s how she wanted it. Something of her own that she had to fight for. And it had taken a fight to get in, and now it was a fight just to keep up.

Rebecca had a suspicion that maybe she was as bad as the rest of them about biting off more than she could chew.

“Whachya studying there?” Bruce’s voice was soft, several tables away, but she still jumped and nearly slid off her seat.

“Holy crap, Dr. Banner, knock next time!” she huffed, pulling herself back up and making sure none of her notes had escaped. 

He had his hands out, smiling sheepishly. She noted that he had no tinge of green at all. He never did. Bruce just liked to sneak up on people, especially Tony. “Sorry, sorry, next time I will. Promise.” 

Rebecca shook her fist at him, but she had a hard time being angry. She sorted out her notes and put them into the folder as she answered. “Bio Chem 101. And it’s kicking my butt. Guessing you’re hungry though. I could whip up some of that Tom Kha soup you like, maybe with some pad thai noodles on the side?” 

“Actually, I gotta admit, I’m craving an old fashioned steak and potatoes.” He moved closer, peering at the still open book. “Bio Chem. Are you taking the pre-med track?” 

The heat rose in her cheeks immediately. She couldn’t believe she actually blushed at a simple question like that. “Nah, it’s… It’s Steve. It’s always Steve, huh?” Rebecca waved at him to join her in the kitchen, trusting Bruce out of all the scientists here to keep his hands to himself. It was like she herded crazily intelligent cats sometimes. “I keep reading all the stuff that’s available on Erskine’s notes and decided that if I really wanted to understand it, I’d have to buck up and study instead of just playing around.” 

Bruce watched as she got the grill going, frowning a little. Then her memory pinged on how he became the Hulk in the first place. “Yeah I know Doc, you don’t have to say it. I’m going research track to understand, not reproduce. Steve’s like a little brother to me, and sometimes it really confuses him, what happened. He uh..” Rebecca paused, hiding in the fridge to find the best cut of steak she had on hand for him, before confessing, “he also managed to find some of the records that the SSR got from Zola, about the experiments they were doing on Bucky when Steve busted him and the Commandos out of that factory.” 

Now Bruce’s face was soft. He always told everyone that he wasn’t a people kind of doctor, but other than Pepper, he was the one who read people the best. “So you’re trying to fill in the blanks there too? I get that.” 

“Yeah.” Rebecca shrugged as she tended to the steak, pushing cheese and bacon bits towards him to nibble on while he waited. “Jarvis makes the best study buddy too.” 

“I am glad that I can help, Miss Barnes.” 

“Is that so. Not giving away any of our secrets, are you J?” 

Rebecca looked up at the ceiling, laughing as the AI answers. “Not at all, Doctor Banner. I merely help with explanations out of the general curriculum and files we have on hand.” 

“What he means is that he can translate from high science speak to general terms really well.” 

“Well he does really good at explaining normal humans to Tony, so he’s got some groundwork to build from, huh J?” Bruce was grinning at the ceiling too, leaning comfortably against the counter. 

“I do find that I learn as much from Miss Barnes and her staff as I do from you and Miss Potts.” 

Rebecca paused and coughed, laughing a little at that. “Okay, I’m never telling them that you’re studying their behavior, or else they’ll freeze up.” She flipped the steak before shifting over to finish the potatoes, stealing a bite of cheese for herself.

“Thank you. They are quite enjoyable companions, whether they are aware of it or not.” 

They share a laugh before they fell into comfortable silence while Rebecca finished his order. His next question surprised her. “You know, you’re pretty chill with all this. Weren’t you bothered by,” and Bruce paused to wave his hand in the air. “Everything?” 

“Yeah. I mean, I have my own share of stuff, from the army before and then what happened last summer. I’m part of the population that’s on some form of long term chemical assistance.” She took another bite of cheese, realizing how hungry she was too. “But I had an advantage going in. I grew up with the history of Steve.” 

“How’s that, exactly?” Bruce cocked his head, genuinely curious. 

Rebecca laughed. “The first conscious memory any of us Barnes kids have is about our parents doing some sort of news bit or memorial about Bucky and Steve. We’ve known from the start that there’s crazy shit in the world, cause we were raised to be the stewards of their legacies. Then BAM! Steve’s back. Once I got over the shock of that, well… A wonderfully polite AI and a genius mad scientist for a boss ain’t so bad.” The steak was done as soon as she wrapped that up, so she flipped it onto the plate with the potato slices, still with the skins on, to dress as he pleased. 

“Huh. I never…” He paused, rubbing the back of his neck before taking the plate. “I never thought of it that way, really. I always marveled at how easily you can tease Steve and Tony.” 

“They like it,” she blurted, then shrugged. “They do. And Natasha. No one else treats them like normal people, so I try the best I can. And now I’m in college so I can catch up a little.”

“Yeah. C’mon, show me what you’re working on, maybe I can help your butt avoid a few kicks, yeah?” 

**  
**##  
January 18th, 2013, three months later  
  
With Jarvis and Bruce Banner as your study mentors, you’re damned right you get straight A’s in all your science courses that semester. At least that’s what Rebecca told herself. 

Doesn’t explain at all how she let Bruce rope her into helping him research Extremis though. “Lab assistant,” is how she explained it to Steve when he asked. It was easier to explain to him than it was to Tony.

“Bruce, is the catering not enough? You need your own personal garçon?” 

Rebecca managed not to yelp when Tony appeared behind her, but she did back away from the microscope to glare at him. “I’m not on work hours, if that’s what you’re asking.” She had just thanked Steve the other day for giving her permission to crash in his suite. Between managing her people, helping Bruce, and picking a full schedule at school, she sometimes only left the tower for those classes.

“You should be on the clock,” Bruce muttered from the other side, not even bothering to look up. “You should go talk to Pepper about switching assignments.” 

“Uhm, why not me?” Tony asked, looking over Bruce’s shoulder at the designs being displayed by the holograph system. “I’m kinda the boss up here, right?” 

“Not in my lab,” Bruce shot back, making Rebecca smile. “You promised me complete autonomy. I finally found me an assistant I can work with. Fix her paycheck.” 

“Uh, once she proves her qualifications. I know cooking is basically chemistry, but…” Tony glared at her. “This is on a slightly higher scale.” 

“Hey, I got straight A’s in my chem courses last semester. Perfect 4.0 GPS so far,” she mouthed back, switching slides to start the next one Bruce had tasked her to.

“Miss Barnes has been quite diligent in her studies. And she has an excellent ability to accelerate her understanding when Doctor Banner requires her assistance,” Jarvis said, making her blush a bit.

“You too, J? C’mon, I get to have some say in all this!” Tony said, flustered and throwing his hands out. Somehow her transcript was on the screen in front of him. She wasn’t surprised. “A _freshman!_ On our most important project right now?” 

“You do get a say in it, Tony. You get to say yes,” Bruce replied calmly. Behind Bruce’s back, Tony just grinned at Rebecca. “I see that,” Bruce muttered again. “Get out.” 

**  
**##  
November 4th, 2013, eleven months later  
  
“I wish you had told me about the college stuff too,” Steve complained. “You could’ve asked any of us to help you, you know.” 

They were in Steve’s suite, making popcorn and pretzels for movie night. Steve came up a few times a month, whenever mission status let him. Rebecca felt it was partially her suite now, since she wouldn’t let Tony give her an apartment of her own. 

“I know. But I’m a Barnes. I do shit on my own,” she said, laughing softly. “I needed to.” 

Steve fell silent at that, nodding. “Yeah, I get that.” He did look up finally, smiling at her a little. “Kinda amazing that you’re working with Bruce though. He’s refused every assistant that Tony or Pepper’s tried to find him since he came to New York.” 

“I guess he just needed someone approved by Captain America,” she snarked, grabbing a handful of popcorn over his arm. “Enough about me and you, how’s Natasha?” 

“Good.” Steve paused to throw a piece of popcorn at her before heading to the couch. “Although she’s gotten it into her head that since Peggy wouldn’t marry me, I need to start dating someone else.” 

Rebecca choked a bit, staring at the wide shoulders. “You asked Peggy Carter to marry you?” 

Steve just turned and grinned at her. “Duh!” 

“Oh you’re such a shit, Rogers. I get to pick the movie now.” She picked up the cheese dip she liked the best with the pretzels before joining him on the couch. “Jarvis, could you bring Dirty Dancing up please?” 

“Certainly, Miss Barnes.” 

The moment Steve realized that the movie’s actually a romantic drama, he turned to glare at her. “I hate you so much right now. Never tell Natasha I saw this.” 

Rebecca laughed through the entire dance training montage.

Johnny had just gotten the point where he tells the world “nobody puts Baby in the corner,” when the screen paused and Jarvis broke in. “Forgive me, Captain Rogers, but this is coming in live from London and Mr. Stark is yelling for you to come up to the lab.”

On screen, some giant t-shaped space ship - it has to be a space ship - was gliding down into Greenwich. CNN’s feed was a shaky cell phone video in the corner of a group of people running towards the space ship with equipment on long rods. One of them was plainly Thor.

“Right. Excuse me Rebecca.” Steve was halfway out the door with his shield before the apology ended. She didn’t care. The scene on the TV was too intense. 

It was over in an hour. There’s nothing that they could do from New York really, except put together some sort of relief response. It’s Rebecca’s day off, but she decided to go up to the lab anyways. 

Steve wasn’t there. Jarvis had told her that he went down to the gym to blow off steam. Tony and Pepper were putting together the relief fund initiative, which left Bruce on his own. When she slips through the lab door, she can see him staring out at the skyline, holding a cup of tea that’s probably long cold. 

She moved closer, just out of arm’s reach but close enough that he could see her out of the corner of his eye. “How you doing, boss?” Rebecca asked softly, watching warily. 

“Not so good, actually. Aliens, again.” Bruce’s voice was soft, far from what she had termed Hulk range. She’d seen that before while working with him the past year.

“Well then, I guess it’s good that I have a distraction?” She brought up to the holograph display, spinning through the various files before she brought up an old one.

“Distractions are good. What is it?” Bruce turned, actually putting down the tea mug as he looked over at her.

“I’m guessing you and Tony probably talked about it, but those portals in the sky, they reminded me of the one we had. Do you think those aliens had something like the Tesseract? I have no clue what it could’ve been, unless it was the cube itself.” 

“Whatever you do, do NOT tell Tony about this theory!” Rebecca laughed, then got busy with the graphs. 

**  
**##  
April 2nd, 2014, five months later  
  
Rebecca didn’t want to answer the phone. Answering the phone meant she had to get up. Bruce had found a new track on the serum formula to chase down and kept them both up all night to do so.

But the phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. “J, are you able to answer my phone for me?” she muttered, feeling entirely too lazy but not enough shame to care about it.

“Rebecca!! Where are you!!” It was her mother. Rebecca shot up in bed, gasping hard.

“Ma, I’m at the tower, what’s wrong?” She tossed the covers aside to grab at the jeans on the floor.

“Turn on the television! They’re saying Steve is a wanted fugitive!” 

She didn’t even have to ask Jarvis. The walk screen flicked to broadcast news filming on a shot up Washington street. Rebecca thumped down on the bed, one leg thrust into her jeans. “Jarvis, tell us what’s happening!” 

“The reports so far is that a large number of unknown assailants attempted to assassinate Shield Director Nick Fury on an open street. His current condition is unknown, but Secretary Alexander Pierce has assumed command of Shield, and has issued a BOLO for Captain Rogers’ arrest, stating he is a person of interest. I’m trying to get more information, but since Mr. Stark infiltrated their system once, they’ve gotten better at locking me out.”

“Ma, what the hell.” 

“I don’t know, Becca, but Steve is going to need you. Let us know what’s going on when you can.” 

“I will, Ma. You got someone moving Grandma?” 

“They’re already there. Be safe Rebecca.” The phone connection died. This was the plan they’d made, when Steve was in the news after the Battle of New York, to scatter. If someone came at Steve through family, they’d have to find them first.

“Jarvis, I know Tony’s really strict on stuff like this, but if Steve calls me, can you make sure it’s a secure line?” 

“That’s the standing order anytime the Captain calls you or any of the Avengers.”

“Thanks Jarvis. You really are the most amazing personality I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.” She kicked the jeans off her leg, twisting to grab her Stark phone.

“Your compliment is accepted, Miss Barnes, but you never have to try to butter me up. Mr. Stark has made me impervious to that.” 

_Dammit Steve, what the hell! Call! Jarvis has all lines secure. Just let us know what you need._ She kept the text short and sweet, but then sent one to Natasha too.

_Do NOT let the pigheaded son of a bitch do this alone. LMK what you need._

Natasha texted back immediately. _Information. Code name, Winter Soldier._

Rebecca went directly to the computer in Steve’s office to do just that, scouring the net and Stark’s database for anything on that code name. 

It hurt, but she decided to stay in New York, although she wanted to head to DC that minute. She couldn’t help but look up now and then at Guinivere still hanging on her wall, mocking her as she kept researching. For the first time since Bruce took her on as an assistant, she decided to call in sick so she can spend her time supplying Natasha with information on a dizzying array of phone numbers by text. Every time she looked up, the situation had gotten even worse. Then the bottom fell out.

~ ~ ~ ~

The battle on the freeway the next day is caught by cell phones and news cameras. It’s fast, it’s bloody, and Rebecca’s happy to be safe in Stark Tower, far away from that insanity. But a heavily armed task force arrest Steve in the middle of the street, right on camera. Natasha’s there with him, and a third man that Rebecca doesn’t recognize.

It’s late that evening before she can to breathe again. Bruce’s lab actually turned out to be the best place to be, because there was plenty of room to pace while the brains kept trying to crack back into Shield. They needed something to argue about, something they felt they could do, because Rebecca found herself caught up on something she doesn’t want to admit she saw.

The research on Natasha’s topic had resulted in a picture. It was only a partial one, and it was grainy. The man had a metal arm, a set jaw, and long brown hair. And the stories gave Rebecca extremely bad vibes throughout the night. Somehow, she couldn’t help but think that it was the same man from the bridge. She couldn’t quite see his face, but metal arms were pretty unique.

The picture was still on her screen when Bruce wandered over to check on her. “Woah, wait, where’s that from?” He actually stepped back, catching her full attention.

“It’s a photo from Paris, 1973. Wait, you recognize him?” Rebecca stepped closer, trying to gauge the intensity of the panic on his face. 

“73? That’s not possible, it’s just…” Bruce turned away from her to check where Tony was before lowering his voice. “I think I remember him, from Harlem. I think.” Bruce rubbed at his head, then shook it a little. “It’s also possible that I’ve been keeping Tony hours too much.” 

“It’s just research anyways. Probably not even the same guy.” Rebecca closed out of her research, returning the computer to the peaceful version of Stark Industry’s desktop image. 

“Miss Barnes, I have an incoming call from Captain Rogers. He wishes to speak to you privately,” Jarvis said suddenly.

Rebecca ran for her phone, answering with “I swear to god, Rogers, if you’re wasting your one call on this…”

“What? I don’t… Rebecca, I’m not.” Steve stuttered a little bit, then she heard him take a deep breath. “I’m not in custody. Natasha and I are safe, we’re hiding, for the moment.” 

“Tell us where you are, I’ve got Tony and Bruce both breathing down my neck to come get you. Help you, whatever you need.” 

“What?! No, I need them to stay there. There’s already too many distractions and this is going to be crazy enough. Listen, Hydra is inside Shield.” 

Rebecca stopped the pacing she was doing, turning to stare at Bruce and Tony, their eyes already locked onto her as she carefully repeated the words, “Hydra. Is in Shield. The old Nazi organization? Steve, I think…”

“It’s fucked up, and I don’t really have time to explain. Tell Tony he needs Jarvis to capture everything coming out of Washington the next few days. That’ll be your proof, I promise. But Rebecca, there’s more.” 

“Did they do something to you down there in DC, Steve? I’ll come get you myself, we’ll figure this out, I promise.” She shoved the phone up tighter under her ear, typing everything out on the computer for the other two to see while she tried to pull Steve around.

“Dammit Rebecca, I’m fine! Fuck,” Steve pauses to take a deep breath, before finally admitting, “no I’m not. There’s this other person here, the Winter Soldier, and he’s…”

“He’s bad, I get that. Natasha’s been having me run research on him since this thing blew up.” 

“It’s worse than that. He’s… it’s…” Now Steve’s voice was cracking a little, then it dropped so low she could barely hear it. “It’s him. It’s Bucky. They’ve had him this whole time.” 

Somehow, she’s sitting on the floor. When had she sat down? “Bucky? No, it’s…”

“It’s him. I know him, I’d know him anywhere. And he tried to kill me today.” 

“It can’t be. He died. It has to be someone else.” She looked up into Bruce’s face. He was worried, but not green. Tony was babbling something to Jarvis in the background, complaining about not having a suit on hand and no way to build one as fast as he wanted to.

“It’s him. Not a clone, not a look-a-like. It’s him. And I’m going to get him back.” A long pause, the sound of a metro bus pulling up on the street next to Steve. “I have to go, Rebecca, but I wanted you to know first, so you can warn the family. And for god’s sake, keep Tony out of this.”

“He doesn’t have a suit right now,” she replied numbly.

“Good. I need you there, watching. I’ll talk to you as soon as this is wrapped up.”

“Okay Steve. Fuck… you better come back from this.” 

“I’m only coming back if I’m bringing Bucky with me,” he swore as he hung up.

Rebecca looked up at Bruce, blinking. “Bluh,” was the only sound she could force out.

“Yeah, I know the feeling. Come on, get up.” He reached down to help her up, dusting her off. “Work. It’ll help you focus.”

“Right.” She scrubbed at her face, feeling off kilter like she was back in the desert. _Focus!_ “Uh… So Steve said to capture everything coming out of Washington. I’m assuming he meant digital as well as the news and social media stuff. What the fuck.”

Bruce’s voice was still soft as he asked, “Who’s supposed to be dead?”

She looked at him, afraid to say the words. Afraid that Steve was right. Afraid that Steve had finally short circuited. “My great uncle, Bucky Barnes. Supposedly Hydra had him this whole time and turned him into,” she paused, then brought the photo back up. “Turned him into the Winter Soldier.” 

Bruce pulled his glasses off to rub at the bridge of his nose. 

**  
**##  
April 15th, 2014, two weeks later  
  
Tony finally convinced Rebecca to accept an apartment of her own in the tower, after Steve had called to say he was coming back to New York. The last bag of her belongings rolls behind her and Guinevere is slung over her shoulder when the elevator opens to spit Steve out. He looked exhausted. Maybe even worse than when she had first met him. He has his own bag over his shoulder, an army duffel. 

Rebecca didn’t even think about it. She just dropped everything in her hands to run and hug him as hard as she could.

After a second, he dropped his bag to hug her back. Aches, both physical and emotional seem to radiate off of him. “I lost him again.”

“We’ll find him, Steve, I promise. We’ll find him.” 

“No one else believes me,” he whispered, shaking with emotion.

“I do. Natasha does. We’re with you,” she said, squeezing him even harder.

He murmured something she can just barely hear, “to the end of the line.” 

Whatever that means, she’s there. 

**  
**##  
September 23rd, 2015, a year later  
  
The driver of the transport truck hadn’t spoken a word since they’d picked Rebecca up at campus. It’d been over a year now, and with Bruce gone, she felt more at home at Columbia than at the tower. She didn’t have to try and parse Tony’s odd gazes at school. She really missed Jarvis, too. Ultron had done more than just break up the group. He’d broken their home too.

But today, Steve and Hill had sent a driver down to collect her, no arguments. At least she had her books for the ride. She wanted to finish her bachelor’s this fall, then get started on her masters, looking ahead to her PhD at some point. Whatever Steve had up his sleeve wasn’t worth that, she thought.

Two hours later, the driver finally slowed down to be buzzed into a private compound. They had to go through several gates, each a little more thorough than the last. Once she saw the building, she understood why. Avengers Academy. “Fuck.” 

The truck went directly into the building and through the underground garage before finally coming to a stop. Steve had the grace to meet her there, at least. “Dammit, Rogers, I have a test in three days!”

“It’s good to see you too. How hard are you going to punch me if I steal a hug?” He didn’t give her time to answer, just wrapped her up tight. She only punched him when the hug went a little too long.

“I’m saving the big punch for when you tell me why you kidnapped me and drug me all the way to the boondocks,” she growled. 

“Come on. It’s easier to show than explain.” Steve turned towards the door, a kid barely old enough to vote opening it up for them. 

“You got him to come in?” She asked hopefully, quickening her steps to match his.

“Not exactly.” Steve bit his lip, then went even further down in the building. 

Rebecca had seen the Ultron footage from Portland, and had even listened to Steve try to talk his way through understanding. It hurt to think that Bucky was out there, alive and okay, but refusing to come home where he belonged. So she tried not to think about it at all.

The lab he led her into had the one thing she did not expect to see: the chair. Techs were working on it, cataloging things she had no idea about. “Where did you find it?” she murmured, not even thinking about whether or not she had enough clearance to ask.

Steve’s face turned sour, and he shook his head. “We didn’t. That team of his, out in Seattle, they pulled off an incredible stunt.” He led her across the lab to another door, an observation room.

Through the glass, she could see into a heavily fortified room. For Bruce, she thought, but it wasn’t Bruce inside. Instead, it was a giant of a man, with blonde hair and muscles even bigger than Steve’s or Thor’s. Natasha sat at a table, watching the man pace, asking soft questions. The intercom was on, so Rebecca could hear the Russian syllables clearly.

“His name is Anatoli Vassiliev, and he was a Soldier just like James,” Steve murmured quietly.

Rebecca took a couple steps forward and watched for a moment, then turned to Steve. “You said his team pulled off a stunt?”

“They shook Vassiliev and his handler out of hiding, in order to take him back. They knew we were watching them the whole time, and tricked Hill into action to catch them. And the machine,” Steve explained. He had his arms folded over his shoulders. He knew exactly what she thought about staying out of New York City. 

“But he stayed out there?” she filled in.

“Yeah. But Sam’s still in Portland, and they’ve agreed to at least be friendlier?”

“Miss Barnes,” someone said from behind her. She knew that voice, even as she turned to face Maria Hill. “Thank you for accepting Steve’s invitation.” 

“It was rather hard to refuse,” Rebecca replied, letting a little sourness into her voice. Hill looked exhausted, but satisfied. “Guess you’re gonna tell me why I’m here?”

“We need your insight. With Dr. Banner off the grid, you’re the next best expert we have on the serum and its effects. I don’t think we could trust anyone else with this.” Hill’s face was calm, even relaxed, as she waited for Rebecca’s response.

“I think maybe you should figure out how to find Bruce and convince him to come back in. I don’t even have my bachelor’s yet.” Rebecca turned to glare at Steve, but he didn’t give her the puppy dog eyes, or even the shameless hopeful look. It was Captain America’s determined face. “You’re serious?”

“Very. Because we have to keep this locked down, we’re keeping it pretty restricted on need to know. That limits who we can have work on it too. You helped Bruce with a lot as his lab assistant. You probably know more than the rest of our team on certain aspects.” 

“Natasha also asked for you,” Steve said quietly. 

Rebecca turned towards the observation window again. The big man finally sat when Natasha told him to. His eyes were blank, almost dead, like Bucky’s had been in all the DC footage. 

“We have to figure out how to break the programming, or else Bucky will never get to come home.” Steve swallowed hard, then forced the next words out. “They’re both still set to kill.” Then Steve looked away. Rebecca realized, he meant they were set to kill him. Jesus.

“I… I need to think about it. Is there any place I can have some privacy? Am I allowed to go outside?” she asked, digging to make sure her phone was in her pocket, not her backpack. 

“Absolutely,” Steve said, relieved that it wasn’t an outright no. 

Hill had another agent named Simmons lead her upstairs to the top of the building. There was a small garden there, with a few benches. “I’ll be just inside the door,” the girl said with a soft English accent. 

“Thanks. I’ll try not to take too long,” Rebecca replied, then she started pacing. 

Three trips around the garden, she thought she’d identified the most private part. She dragged a bench over to it and sat with her knees pulled up to her chest, phone in hand. It was a new number she texted. She could only hope he hadn’t switched yet. _I need advice._

Twenty minutes later, she got a response. _Go._

 _They found a new gym set, and a willing student. They’ve asked me to help monitor._ She tried hard to keep everything as generic as she could. But if they intercepted her text here, it was ridiculously easy to know what she meant.

_They want to make a new sports formula?_

_No, they want to break it down, see why the old one worked._ Rebecca paused, thinking hard. _They want to break down the psychology of the advertising campaign._

She jumped when the phone buzzed with a call. It was a different number than she’d been texting. “Hello?”

“Do you trust them?” Straight to the point. It was hard to hear the voice under the static.

“Mostly.” 

“Where are you?” 

“At the other campus.” She looked around carefully. Identified spots she would use as a sniper. No one was there.

“Go for it. Make sure they let you bring your personal computer. The password is Harmonizing.” 

“Okay. I will.” She paused, then kicked herself for asking. “Are you safe?” 

“Blue skies and pina coladas all day long.” 

Rebecca smiled in relief, let it show in her words. “Good. Thank you.” 

“New code phrase, Disinfect. See you around, kid.” The line went dead. 

She took another fifteen minutes to clear her head, then walked back to the door. Simmons was still there, and happy to lead her back down to where Hill and Steve were arguing. They both looked up at her. Steve looked hopeful again. Hill had a calculating look on her face. 

“I’m in. I need to go back for my stuff, my notes and everything. And security clearance to come and go as I please.” Hill frowned, but Steve nodded. “Also, I’m not joining your Academy or Shield or whatever this is. I’m a consultant only.”

“Understood,” Steve said quickly, before Hill could qualify that statement. “Thank you Rebecca.” 

She could do this. Her objectives were pretty much the same as theirs. Figure out the serum, see how it worked. Once you knew how, then you could also learn how to neutralize it. 

Rebecca watched Nat in the observation room. Watched her duck and roll as the giant’s patience for her questions finally ran out. Actually, neutralizing might be helpful to them all. She’d be able to bring them both home, James and Bruce. If that’s what they wanted. Blue skies and pina coladas sounded really good to her as an alternative.

“So let’s do this,” she said, looking for where they wanted her to start.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah.. I picked up where Marvel left off. I get that they only have so much time in the movies, but dammit, it's lazy writing to completely ignore family and past connections like that. Steve would be a hell lot more balanced if they remembered there's family to lean on. I uhm, also filled in a few plot holes, like what they were doing when events happened in the solo movies between Avenger movies. *halo* It's also a pet peeve of mine that they focus only on the heros, not the common people who absolutely WOULD HAVE stepped up. To fight, to help, to be there. I live in Tornado Alley. It's what we do. 
> 
> Also, I didn't have enough Bruce in my fics.
> 
> I followed the timeline at the Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia site as faithfully as I could. And yes, I skipped the whole Ultron thing in this one, cause it's been pretty well addressed, I think.  
> Beta read by the ever awesome Florianna, because she's a glutton for this stuff.
> 
> Title and Lyrics are from Dessa's song [Warsaw](https://youtu.be/nwXI0QMQeWA). She's awesome, go listen.


End file.
